Answer Nation, your loyalty these last few days has been truly touching.

As Answer Man John Boyle continues lazily luxuriating on vacation this week, you have really come through with the burning question submissions.

Particularly heart-warming this week was an inquiry from the gentleman who wrote, “I usually submit my questions to John Boyle and he ignores them because they’re offensive generally. So glad to see you’re taking over — I’ll start re-routing them to you from now on.”

Question: I’ve seen all sorts of trucks with AT&T poking around West Asheville, men working under tents and around telephone poles for weeks. Might we finally be getting AT&T U-verse and ending the vast corporate Internet monopoly oppressing us all? Or are there some secret Internet providers none of my neighbors know about?

My answer: Did anyone else miss the “Buy Local” AT&T booth at Big Love, or is that just me?

Real answer: Don’t hold your breath on any AT&T alternatives appearing in the very near future, but technically you do have some other options.

“Construction and maintenance is an ongoing part of operating a communications network,” said AT&T spokesman Josh Gelinas. “On any given day, AT&T has a large number of projects under way. At this time, we are not launching any new service in the West Asheville area.”

There are a few local options for wireless Internet only. Skyrunner, Inc., headquartered in Asheville, was one of the first companies in the United States to offer wireless broadband connectivity to the Internet, beginning in 1997. They offer business and residential Internet connections for $40-$99 a month in Buncombe and eight other counties in the area.

The only catch is that there has to be a “line-of-sight” connection to one of their access points, so some homes buried in tree canopies or otherwise obscured may not be eligible.

Question: My friends and I love to hike the trails at the Richmond Hill Disk Golf Park in Woodfin. Last month we were happy there were new blazes and the whole trail was well marked but when we went last week, some of the signs have been vandalized again and it took us a while to find the right trail. This time we did not get lost (but we have, twice, in the past).

Why would some people vandalize the signs? Is that the “disc golfers” who do not want hikers there? Who is in charge of maintaining the park? Is there a map of the trails? How can we get one?

My answer: So do disc golfers qualify as Crips or Bloods or are they their own thing?

Real answer: Richmond Hill Park is city-owned and maintained, but much of the work that occurs in the park is done by volunteers.

“I think the city helps the disc golf course out with mulch but I don’t think they supply much if any of the labor or equipment,” said James Wood, an organizer with Friends of Richmond Hill park.

The trails have all been made and maintained by SORBA (Southern Off-Road Biking Association) under the supervision of Mike Brown, and volunteers with the Western North Carolina Alliance doing invasive species removal.

“Not long ago, SORBA built a new trail to avoid going on the private property that the city quietly sold to Chis Peterson a few years back,” Wood said. “When the city sold the property they cut off part of the trail network, and the new trail is not represented on the map. It would be great if the city could get the property back since it is right next to the wetland, but that is a whole different issue.”

As for a map, SORBA is working on one now. Currently the best map is on the Friend of Richmond Hill Park blog site at http://richmondhillpark.wordpress.com. The map was made by a volunteer with WNCA.

This is the opinion of Casey Blake. Email your questions to cblake@citizen-times.com or call 232-2922.